Mr Kalam, is it not enough?
Sir, With all respects to A P J Abdul Kalam, his reported willingness to “contest” is in poor taste especially when the UPA has already announced its candidate.
Mr Kalam’s reported statement prove that it is difficult to give up power even by wonderful souls like him.The Third front is naturally looking for some attention and for that they have dragged him to agree for a contest.
When K R Narayanan’s name was proposed for a second term, A B Vajpayee, the then Prime Minister rejected it on the ground that there was no such convention.
The Third front consisting of regional parties who are opposed to women’s reservation and they again are propagating their agenda through the backdoor policy by indirectly opposing the candidature of Pratibha Patil.
Tony Augustine
Bangalore
Rushdie cuts wider
Sir, Knight Rushdie will cut a deeper chasm between the West and the Islamic countries. The British government has chosen to re-kindle a forgotten controversy by knighting him.
The book, Satanic Verses had prompted the islamic fraternity across the globe to label him an apostate with the strongest condemnation coming from late Iranian spiritual leader Ayatollah Khomeni who issued a fatwa against him.
The British government should have weighed the pros and cons of such a decision.
J S ACHARYA
Hyderabad
Do not put a dummy
Sir, Sonia Gandhi will never forgive A P J Abdul Kalam for upsetting her apple cart three years ago when she was on the verge of becoming the Prime Minister.
As a result it is unlikely that the Congress will withdraw Pratibha Patil. However, that should not deter the Third Front leaders. There is enough room for cross-voting even among the constituents of UPA. The Left’s stand do not matter at all. Let us hope an eminent person like Mr Kalam, and not a dummy, occupies the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Rajalakshmi V S
Mumbai
We need Kalam
Sir, I appeal to all my fellow citizens — scientists, doctors, lawyers, teachers, businessmen, industrialists, college and school students — to immediately send telegrams and SMSes to Sonia Gandhi and Rajnath Singh carrying the following message: We appeal to you to rise above petty party politics and elect A P J Abdul Kalam unopposed. A visionary like Mr Kalam is the only person who can unite this country which is pulled in various directions by numerous fissiparous forces.
V VENKATASUBRAMANIAN
Mumbai
Condemnable act
Sir, It is a happy coincidence that all the names in the presidential fray – Pratibha Patil, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and A P J Abdul Kalam – are in respectable positions and have impeccable character. Condemning Pratibha Patil by the BJP is most condemnable.
Even when Indira Gandhi was elected as the first woman PM her detractors, particularly the then Jan Sangh, had made wild allegations. Henry Kissinger in his book has eulogised her as a dynamic and powerful Indian PM.
Raghuvira Chaitanya
Bangalore
A clean slum
Sir, Some big industrial groups are vying with each other to capture Dharavi, Asia’s largest slum in Mumbai. Their plan is to construct shopping malls and residential complexes after acquiring the land.
These industrialists can provide low cost two room houses to the people displaced by the project. At the same time, the people should be guided to be more hygienic and keep their surroundings clean by thorough training. Such action plans can later be extended to slums in other cities also to eradicate the menace of burgeoning slums and the diseases that engulf them.
B N BHARATH
Srirampuram
Mr Kalam, is it not enough?
